


Synthetic Blend 7

by TheRoguePhilosopher



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, More tags to come but don't want to spoil, Sanvers - Freeform, Super!Alex, Super!Maggie, loose Batman Begins, loose Batwoman comics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-10-10 15:19:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10440774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRoguePhilosopher/pseuds/TheRoguePhilosopher
Summary: Eventually, the alien population was going to grow beyond what Supergirl and Superman would be able to handle themselves in their respective cities.  Luckily, Alex and Kara's earth mother had already developed a scientifically proven solution to the ever growing need for additional Supers.  What Eliza didn't know is that J'onn also pocketed some, hell bent on ensuring that the DEO is stacked with as many good agents as possible.Action/Drama/Romance, maybe some fluff/fun/lovin' thrown in--don't want to spoil too much, but this will be Alex's progression into being her own hero, and progression further into her relationship with Maggie.





	1. Perfume

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So this is planned to be a long, multi-chapter story, written like each bundle of chapters is an Alex-centric episode. Fair warning: you have a 50/50 chance of me finishing this. When I stop watching a show I stop writing a show lol, but these folks are doing well so far so I'm going to trust that the "lesbian lives" this time and then I won't drop. Also, I do update frequently and love recs for me to read from folks in the same fandom :)  
> *Also, I don't use a beta reader, so expect some mistakes that I don't catch depending on just how late at night I am up typing. YAY let's get started!

That perfume. 

 Alex Danvers was all about “taking one for the team”, so to speak. The fact that she was on a DEO lab table, with a slow-drip bag of a synthetic alien DNA booster plugged into what was quickly becoming her least-favorite vein, spoke to that sentiment.

 Alex knew that Kara was starting to need her help more and more, along with the rest of the DEO.  The influx of aliens from newer and farther away lands had been a general economy booster, making earth a must-see for alien tourists and settlers alike. The downside had been that for the few criminals and members of the galactic underworld, earth was a target. 

 The big-bads were getting bigger and badder.  It was at the point where the DEO was aware that Clark and Kara weren’t going to cut it—they needed four or five supers, minimum, to keep up with the rising strength of their enemies.  Luckily, Eliza had developed a synthetic DNA blend, sort of a temporary booster for humans.  And she was one-hundred and ten percent confident it was safe, or she wouldn’t be injecting it into her oldest child. 

 Alex wrinkled her nose. 

 “Does the needle hurt?  I can adjust the angle, sweetie, but it’s almost drained.”  Eliza ran her hand over Alex’s hair while pulling her close, as though she were soothing a fever and not pumping her adult daughter full of sense-enhancements. She rubbed Alex’s cheek and neck on the same side, like she used to when Alex was scared at doctor’s visits as a child.

 “No, Mom, I can handle a little needle.  It’s just—are you wearing perfume?”  Alex said, trying not to sneeze. 

 “Yes.  I don’t usually wear scents in the lab, but I had lunch plans and didn’t think that the enhancer would be ready so quickly.  Do you like it?  It’s a foreign blend that Macy’s started carrying from Daxom.”  Eliza leaned over, immediately making Alex want to gag.  There was indeed such a thing as too many flowers crammed into one smell. 

 “It’s great, Mom.”  Alex put forward her best, cheesiest smile.  She knew that the enhancements were in her bloodstream when the smell started getting stronger, even as Eliza moved farther to the other side of the room. She could suddenly hear everything too, not just in the room, but in the building—the “ding” of the security doors in the front, the visitors signing in at the front desk, the whooshing of the elevators—all of which were sounds that Alex was _very_ familiar with, and which were very much seven floors above where she was currently situated. 

 “So this is what Kara feels like all the time.”  She wondered out loud, not expecting an answer from her mother, who was humming happily while looking into a microscope.  

* * *

 

“Whoa.”  Maggie said, feeling the effects of the injection J’onn had just given her. 

 At first, she didn’t think it had worked.  She didn’t feel any different.  But she was willing to take the risk, if it meant being the DEO’s back up for Alex in the field, doing anything for Alex, she was game.  And she trusted J’onn.  She knew he was pretty much Alex’s work father, but sometimes they would all go out after work or have dinner at Kara’s apartment, and it was clear that J’onn was Alex’s father figure there too.  So if he thought Alex needed back up, the she thought so too. 

 “I just hope she’s not too angry when she finds out I went ahead and let you pump me up with enhancements without talking to her first.”

 “Oh, she’ll be angry.”  J’onn laughed knowingly, the smile relaxing Maggie, causing her to chuckle along.  “But if it keeps her safe, she can be angry for a few days.  Until she sees how useful this synthetic blend is—then, I think she’ll understand.” 

 They waited a few moments for the injection to kick in, with Maggie not really paying attention to what he was saying, instead staring at where the needle had been in her arm, waiting to feel the blend take effect. 

 “Detective, please remember:  these superpowers aren’t all fun and games.  I know very well myself what it’s like to hear people’s inner-most thoughts that I didn’t want to hear in the first place.  The blend won’t make you psychic, but you will most certainly see things that you don’t want to see, hear things you don’t want to hear.  Supergirl can’t sleep without earplugs if there is a late night party on the other side of the city.”

 He pulled out some pre-packaged individual swabs for the injection site, handing them to the detective, who quickly shoved them into her pocket.  “One of these on the injection site every few hours.  You will most certainly need to do that or it’s going to get ugly from this blend.”

 Maggie’s vision suddenly kicked up more notches than she thought vision could, noticing not the color of J’onn’s cable knit shirt, but the individual fibers, immediately identifying one tiny strand that didn’t completely match the color of the others.  The words J’onn spoke went in one ear and out the other.  Maggie unconsciously zoomed in, magnifying by staring, seeing how each strand was made up of smaller strands, which were made up of strands even smaller than that. 

 The detective’s eyes went wide, as she kept zooming down.  “This is bad ass.” 

* * *

 

Alex tried not to jump when she heard Maggie’s footsteps down the hall.  Even with only two hours of super hearing, she knew what Maggie’s steps would sound like: small, quick steps.  She closed her eyes, picturing the detective’s swagger in her slightly-heeled Chelsea boots, leather jacket wrapped around her strong shoulder.  She quickly threw out the anti-bacterial swab she was using on her arm where the drip had been hooked up earlier.

 At least, Alex hoped Maggie was wearing one of her faux-leather jackets.  The agent took a quick, deep inhale, immediately picking up on the smell of Maggie’s black jacket, the familiar scent causing her to smile, only being snapped out of her thought by Maggie knocking. 

 “It’s open.”  She yelled over her shoulder. 

 Maggie jumped in the hallway, not used to Alex’s small shout sounding like a booming yell.  She had only had super hearing for a few hours, after all.  She took a cooling, collecting breath, pausing to run her hands through her hair. 

  _Get it together, Sawyer. You will tell her you’re on a synthetic alien DNA blend…eventually.  Let’s not lead with that.  She needs to know.  She just doesn’t need to know right this second.  I can deal with Alex yelling at me once I’m at least used to feeling like this._

 Alex tried not to use her x-ray vision, but she was wondering what was taking Maggie so long.  She zoomed in, taking a quick scan of the woman behind her door, who was running her hands through her hair, taking deep breaths.  Alex had just enough time to zoom back out when she saw Maggie’s hand go for the door knob. 

 “Hey.”  Maggie tried to sound casual, walking in, looking forward to stepping into the redhead’s arms after a long, strange day.  She walked towards Alex’s smiling face, her open arms, stopping for a moment about four feet away. 

  _Perfume.  Alex smells like another woman’s perfume._ Maggie stopped in her tracks, eyebrows shooting up before she realized she was reacting to a smell that as far as Alex knew she wouldn’t have the scent receptors to pick up on.

 Maggie swallowed, forcing the smile back on, before stepping into Alex’s arms, smelling the perfume in full force.  She thought back to J’onn’s warning, and how he conveniently left out “smelling things you may not want to smell” from his speech.

  _Alex definitely did not put this perfume on.  It’s only on one side of her body.  Her hair—and her neck. Has she come home smelling like this before, and I just couldn’t pick up on it?_

 Maggie felt her hairs stand on end, both on the back of her neck and on her arms.  She did a quick x-ray scan of Alex’s bathroom. 

  _Nope.  No new perfume.  Where did this smell come from?_ Maggie didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but she immediately gripped Alex tighter, feeling herself become overwhelmingly territorial. 

 “Hey.  Maggie-babe.  I missed you too, but I still need to be able to breath.”  Maggie dropped her arms, realizing she was about to squeeze Alex like she was waiting for toothpaste to come out.

 “Sorry.  I just missed you.”  Maggie said flatly, inhaling again.  Remembering the scent. 

  _Why does Alex smell like another woman’s perfume?_ Maggie studied Alex’s face, both wanting to kiss her, and also not wanting to kiss her because she had another woman’s scent on her and she didn’t like it.

 Maggie Sawyer didn’t like it one bit. 

 

 


	2. One Hell of a Day

“Damn it, Alex!  I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!”  Maggie was taking far too much pleasure in using her newfound heat vision to zap up two mugs of coffee.  It was a superpower she was finding really helped blow off some steam. She was trying her best not to completely incinerate the innocent cups.

“Really?  Because you didn’t apparently do the same thing today?”  Alex asked incredulously, trying not to touch anything as her arms waived around for fear of super strength kicking in and breaking things.

“No.  It’s not the same. I didn’t even find out about this blend until ten minutes before I was being injected.  You’ve known this was coming for days.  _Days_ , Alex.  What happened to ‘this is a relationship’? I was going to tell you after, which I did, because I didn’t know about it before today. Why didn’t you say something before?”

Maggie zapped the mugs again for good measure, before hastily pushing one to Alex, along with the sugar bowl.  She was mad, but not mad enough to make Alex drink coffee plain, knowing how much she hated Maggie’s coffee preferences. 

“It wasn’t supposed to be ready today!  I was going to tell you first.  I guess my Mom just bumped up production—which, ew, by the way.  You only told me because you thought my _mother’s_ perfume was evidence of some sort of—what, DEO harlotry?  Is that what you think I’m doing at the shooting range? I work with my mother and my sister.  There is no affair here!” Alex did the hot coffee as shot, her new powers ensuring that not only did she not get burned, but it didn’t even feel boiling on the way down.  She gently put the mug down.  Already during this argument she had accidentally ripped open a pillow, broken a lamp, and started to fly—only floating about three inches off of the ground before realizing what was happening and focusing on earth’s gravitational pull.

“Okay!  I’m sorry.  I didn’t say you _were_ having an affair.  I just flat-out asked.  See?  That’s how we avoid misunderstandings.  I ask a direct question, you have a direct answer.” 

“I’m sorry too.  I should have brought it up—and I was going to, you know, I just thought it was a conversation that was at least a week down the line.” Alex stopped, realizing that she was not capable of being angry at Maggie Sawyer for more than five seconds.  Something about looking at someone who had dimples even when not actively smiling made it impossible.

“Are you going to promise not to sniff me every time I walk through the door then?”  Alex said, cracking a smile.  It was clicking in her head how ridiculous this was.  They should be having fun with their superpowers, not fighting about them. She bit her lip, holding the pose to allow Maggie the option to zoom in if she felt so inclined.    

Maggie smiled back, letting the tension leave her shoulders, putting her mug down on the counter.  She walked over to Alex’s side in the kitchen, putting her hands on the taller woman’s hips. 

“I’m sorry.  I got a little—territorial.”  Maggie saw Alex looking at her with adoring eyes, telling the detective that Alex was more amused than angry. They both very clearly remembered what Maggie’s growl sounded like.

“That’s probably the part of the blend that’s from Terra.  Dog Terranians are actually more like lycans.  You’d think the increased scent powers we have would be Kryptonian, but apparently Terranian scent is superior, blending better with the human palate when taste comes into play--”

“Babe,” Maggie started, “I love when you nerd out on me, but I need you to back that up.  Did you say this blend is part-Terranian?  And basically wolf Terranian?”  Alex nodded, letting Maggie continue. 

“Hmm.”  Was Maggie’s response, wrapping her arms further around her girlfriend, nuzzling her neck.  Once Alex had washed the perfume smell off at Maggie’s rash insistence, Alex’s natural scent took over.  It was pleasant, having a calming effect on Maggie when she focused on it.  She enjoyed the moment for a bit before continuing. 

“So we know then that the blend has Kryptonian, Daxamite, and Terranian DNA.  What else?”  Maggie asked, since clearly Eliza had much more information for Alex about the process than J’onn had for Maggie.  The detective couldn’t shut off the cop part of her brain, which was starting to suspect that J’onn may not have one-hundred percent had the DEO’s permission to give Maggie the booster. 

“Well, there’s actually two different Kryptonian strands, one from Kandor and one from the old Argo City, or at least what Eliza’s been able to salvage and replicate.  Then there are two Daxamite strands, the Terranian strand, a DNA donation from Stephen Hawking--”

“What now?”  Maggie asked, seeing very quickly that Alex was _not_ kidding. 

“Eliza thinks he was too intelligent to be a regular human.  I heard that with a little urging from Supergirl he gladly donated to the cause.  And the last strand is completely synthetic, not derived from any alien DNA, but a manipulation of existing human traits.” 

Maggie took a step back, pacing while taking in all of the information.  This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment reaction to a spike in crime levels.  This had been something that was carefully crafted and probably tested out over weeks, maybe even months. 

She looked down at her own hands, feeling the strength.  Thousands of years of evolution across several planets were now coursing through her veins, heightening every sense, reinforcing every muscle.  She felt intrigued.  She felt powerful. 

She snapped up to look at Alex, who had started making a second cup of coffee.  Maggie watched Alex’s hands work, admiring how Alex gripped the spoon as she stirred, the way her lips pursed together when she focused on something, how she patiently waited for Maggie to collect herself, letting the ball of sweet yet protective energy that was Maggie Sawyer let her know when she was ready to keep talking. 

Maggie let herself zoom in on Alex, scanning her neck, her collar bones, little dips and creases of the skin that she had memorized in their short six weeks together.  But not it was different—she still felt the overwhelming protectiveness, even a bit of the territorial instinct lingering from the Terranian split, which Maggie decided to let be a blessing instead of a curse. 

“Danvers.”  Maggie said, letting Alex finish stirring, and then look up to make eye contact. 

“Hmm?” Alex looked into Maggie’s completely dilated pupils. 

“Wanna have super sex?”

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Shaking

 

Maggie decided very quickly that if these were the side effects of having “super sex”, she would give up her powers immediately, and never take another injection again. 

She stood over Alex after having thrown on an oversized shirt, holding a second shirt in her hands, hoping that at some point Alex would stop vomiting the dark purple sludge that was being wretched out of the taller woman’s mouth.

“Okay.  It’s okay.  Here.” Maggie saw a pause in the vomiting, trying to get something on Alex’s naked form. 

Alex shook her head back and forth.  “I’m too hot.” 

Maggie still helped her put the shirt on, followed by a pair of sweatpants, noticing the sweat pouring off of her girlfriend’s forehead.  She walked over to the sink, dampening a towel with some cool water, then using it to gently pat Alex’s brow.  The detective put her fingertips to Alex’s forehead, immediately knowing it was a toasty 102.5 Fahrenheit, thanks to her powers still in full swing. 

“Alex, I need you to unlock your phone for me, okay?” Maggie said softly, going back to the bedroom to grab Alex’s phone.  She wasn’t sure who she should be calling, exactly, but she knew that taking Alex to a hospital and trying to explain that her girlfriend was having an alien vomit-fest and was acting a whole heck of a lot like an alien, but was technically a human, wasn’t an option. 

* * *

 

_Earlier_

_Alex was really enjoying Maggie’s suggestion for how to try out their new abilities, hoping the subtle nausea that was starting to creep in was from having coffee at night on a fair empty stomach, and not from any actual sickness._

_She tried to concentrate on using her enhanced sense receptors to feel Maggie. She tried to inhale her. Really, truly feel her like this. She wanted to ignore her stomach churning and just feel._

_Maggie had undressed Alex in three seconds flat, apparently deciding to use her super-speed to aid the process, grinning proudly at her accomplishment.  To be fair, naked Alex was her very favorite thing to have on top of her, and having naked Alex on top, kissing her deeply, tasting Alex more intensely than she thought possible was a side effect of the enhancement that she could get used to very quickly._

_Alex paused their kissing for a moment, swallowing, trying to steady herself, telling herself that the flush she was feeling was arousal, and not a pounding headache coming in. She had been relieved when Maggie had nearly shredded off her clothes, at least letting her feel cool for a moment._

_“Alex.  Alex?”  Maggie asked, looking up at the woman on top of her, who had been kissing her way down her neck but suddenly paused, swallowing harshly._

_“I’m okay.”  Alex said, inhaling quickly, trying to focus on Maggie’s skin, which somehow felt a thousand times softer than usual._

_It wasn’t lost on Maggie that she hadn’t actually asked Alex if she was okay, which was the second tip off that she most certainly wasn’t._

_“Alex, let’s slow down, okay?”  Maggie tried to maneuver Alex onto the pillow next to her while simultaneously re-buttoning her shirt.  Alex shook her head, burying her face back in the curve of Maggie’s neck._

_“I’m just not used to my senses yet.”  Alex mumbled from the slope she was back to kissing.  “I just need a minute.”  Maggie nodded, understanding the sentiment.  While she always loved when Alex spend time nipping and licking at her neck, it never felt this intense.  If they literally did this all night Maggie would be the happiest little detective in National City._

_So when Alex started unbuttoning the detective’s shirt again, Maggie didn’t stop her, feeling the agent’s mouth moving lower, kissing down the middle of her torso, each touch magnified for the both of them. Alex’s tongue darting out sent shivers down her spine, her back arching into the soft mouth._

_Alex again ignored the nagging nausea, and the pounding in her head.  It felt terrible, but the part of her mouth that were touching parts of Maggie just felt so, so good, she was choosing to press on, unbuttoning the detective’s tight jeans, wasting no time pulling them off._

_It wasn’t until later, after having only spent a scarce minute with her head bobbing between Maggie’s legs, tongue long and flat, did Alex realize that the unpleasantness brewing in her stomach wasn’t going away, becoming an urgent upswing that felt like a punch, causing her to run from the bed directly to the attached bathroom._

* * *

 

“It’s a simple Kryptonian-toxicosis, but I’m surprised it took so long to set in. I monitored Alex for hours, I can’t believe that it just didn’t—Maggie, it’s going to be okay.  Are you okay?”  Eliza had agreed to meet Maggie at the DEO, grateful that there was a second woman in Alex’s life with the ability to fly, even if it was only a temporary ability. 

Maggie nodded, feeling all sorts of feelings, and none of them were happiness.  She felt angry at herself for not stopping Alex as soon as she sensed something was off.  She felt sick smelling traces of the originally offending perfume on Eliza, reminding her of how they had argued earlier that night.  And she certainly didn’t like Alex lying in a hospital bed, still sweating and shaking, feeling helpless about it. 

“I’m fine.  Just—Krypto-whatever-toxicosis…what is it, and how do we make it stop?”  Maggie asked, holding Alex’s hand while Eliza mixed two different tubes together on the side table, pouring the mixture into a beaker.

“It means her body is rejecting the enhancement. And she was fine until a half hour ago?”  Eliza shook the beaker, waiting for Maggie’s nod.  “Well, there was always a slight chance that her body was going to reject the foreign DNA.  I know it looks bad, Maggie, but the fever is actually her body trying to burn up the enhancement.  She’ll be fine, but we won’t be enhancing her again.” 

Eliza held the beaker with the blue liquid up to Alex’s lips, stroking her daughter’s hair. 

“Well, at least it was fun for a little while.”  Alex choked out after swallowing the medicine. 

Maggie zoomed her scent senses in on whatever liquid Eliza had made, sniffing the residue from where she sat on the other side of Alex.  It smelled like sniffing inside of a bottle of pain reliever, mild, with nothing special.

“Well, Maggie, it looks like you’re the one who gets the super juice from now on.”  Eliza said, nodding in Maggie’s direction.  Maggie had come clean with Eliza immediately, about how J’onn had slipped her the alien DNA as well.  It was comforting for her that Alex’s mother wasn’t panicking.  If Eliza was fine, the Alex really was going to be fine. 

“There’s no way in hell Maggie gets to be the only super.” Alex said, voice still cracking, but with determination. 

Supergirl bust right into the room without knocking. 

“What happened?”


	4. They Were Everywhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a short one here--hopefully that means I can have another one up soon!

 

Alex knew exactly what was going to happen when she fell asleep that night. It happened every time she tried to sleep with a fever since the incident happened when she was twelve, just after Kara had arrived. 

Agent Danvers looked so tough, so ready-to-take-on-the-world on any given day, that it broke Maggie’s heart to sit in bed next to Alex as her face scrunched up in pain, knowing there was nothing she could do but use a cool cloth on Alex’s forehead, attempting to soothe whatever was haunting the woman on the inside.  Apparently, one could be pumped full of a variety of superpowers and still ultimately wind up helpless.

Alex remembered the exact moment she had tripped and fell in the well.  She remembered because she relived it in every one of these nightmares. 

* * *

 

Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers had purchased a large, old home on a property that wasn’t originally equipped for electricity or plumbing.  Alex was barely ten when they had moved in, the only child and her parents living out of a small portion of the house while the electricity and plumbing were added.  During that week, Eliza had turned their living situation into a science experiment, hooking up a bicycle to a generator to teach Alex how electricity is generated. 

Ten-year-old Alex didn’t mind taking her turn on the bike to generate the make-shift electricity when it was her turn each day that week, and was more than grateful when the plumbers added a full modern bathroom on only their second day.  She loved the long wooden porch that surrounded the house, and that she was going to have a huge room once the renovations were finished.

By the time Alex was eleven, the entire property had been modernized.  Anything that could have been lead or asbestos based was removed, appliances updated, windows weatherized.  The Danvers did leave a few touches of the house’s history here and there, such as keeping the wood-burning stove in the kitchen, and not plugging up the well far out in the back of the yard.  They figured that well water was a good back-up in case of an emergency.

Alex knew the day she was running through the yard after a butterfly, she knew as soon as her foot hit the root, that she was too far out in the yard. 

She didn’t even scream on the way down the well, too shocked as she fell to process what was happening, not even attempting to grab at the slick sides or the moss on the way down.

Alex fell a good twenty feet down, landing hard on her left wrist.  As she looked around her, fear quickly overcame the pain.

_Bats.  There were bats everywhere around her._

It was then that Alex let out a scream as loud as she could muster, shrieking out, forcing air out of her lungs like she never had before.  The bats immediately took off, swirling around her, at least a hundred.  Alex continued to scream, as she was surrounding by darkness and flapping wings.  She could _feel_ them brushing up against her and she kept screaming, crying, hoping her parents could hear her.  They made a sound she would never forget, an animal communication that she had never heard live since, but it still rang through her ears clear as day.

It must have only lasted five seconds, but it felt like hours until Kara jumped down the well, grabbing Alex, and flying them both up out of well that had become a bat sanctuary.  Alex would remain terrified of bats from that day on.  That was also the day that she and Kara became inseparable. 

* * *

 

Maggie continued patting Alex’s head, wishing more than anything she had a way to stop the nightmare, seeing Alex clearly in discomfort.  The detective was torn between letting Alex sleep it off, or waking her up to end the nightmare that would only surface again if Alex fell back asleep.

She had seen this happen once before, when Alex had a fever from a flu.

_She immediately went over to Alex’s apartment when her girlfriend texted her to cancel their date, saying she was sick.  Maggie had walked in to find Alex on the couch, eyes drooping, head nodding, each time the agent catching herself forcing herself to stay up._

_Maggie immediately felt inadequate, wishing she had stopped to pick up flu medicine, or a “get well” teddy bear, orange juice—anything to try to provide comfort instead of walking in empty-handed._

_“Hey.” Alex croaked out, trying to smile.  Maggie smiled back, ignoring Alex’s attempt to use her foot to swipe a pile of tissues over the edge of the coffee table to the waste basket._

_“Hey yourself.”  She scooped Alex up into her arms, lying back on the couch, snickering at the fact that Alex had a network crime drama playing in the background.  Only Alex could come home and unwind from work by watching more shows about work._

Maggie thought back to that night, the way she held Alex in her arms just like she was now, how both times she kissed the crown of Alex’s head, running a hand up and down Alex’s side, dabbing her forehead gently, hoping that in some small way anything she did helped Alex through whatever happened in her nightmares. 

This time, just like last time, Alex wouldn’t talk about whatever it was that tormented her in her sleep the night before. 


	5. Because I Was Worried

 

“It’s just so dangerous. Really. For the both of you.”  Supergirl continued to pace back and forth in front of Maggie and Alex on her couch. 

At least Supergirl had the decency to wait until Alex was recovered before starting the lecturing.

“We know.” They both answered in unison. 

Kara continued to pace in the super-suit, fingers together pointing the “you need to listen to me, young lady” triangle.  She thought her attempts at sounding like any serious authority figure, which was why she showed up dressed as Supergirl, were working, when she noticed Maggie never moved a muscle, and Alex was sitting wringing her hands, eyes bouncing back and forth between Kara and Maggie.

“Honestly.  Have you both even considered how to fly before doing it? Do you know how to signal to airplanes so they don’t get scared and radio in a UFO? Do you know how to land at high speeds without destroying everything in a twenty foot radius?”

“Sorry.  I’m sure we would--”

“Not you, Maggie.” Kara interrupted. “I know you only flew Alex to the DEO because it was an emergency. Thank you for that.”

“I-” Maggie didn’t quite know how to react to being praised in the middle of what was shaping up to be a very, very long lecture. She could see Kara’s sincerity in her eyes, both melting her heart for the little Danvers and being so emotionally honest it was making her uncomfortable. 

“Kara, I love that you care about us.  Both of us.”  Alex paused to put her hand on Maggie’s, “but this whole ‘badass little sister’ lecture is a bit too late, don’t you think?  I can’t be a super.  So it doesn’t matter.” 

“I know.  But it’s the principle of it.  You jumped head first into a whole bunch of things that could have been really dangerous. Do you know how many times I accidentally put my fist through walls, or stomped in a stair to hard and broke it, how many forks and pencil’s I’ve snapped…”  Maggie and Alex’s eyes both flitted over to the picture hanging on the right wall, that Kara was not aware was purchased to cover up when Alex made that exact mistake during their argument two nights prior. 

“You’re right.  All of what you’re saying is right.  It was really dangerous.  And I can’t promise I wouldn’t do it again, because X-ray vision is totally bad-ass, but for now, you have nothing to worry about.  Alex can’t super-juice, and mine wore off.”  Maggie spoke, not moving, still clinging lightly to Alex’s hand while hoping that the super-scolding was nearing an end.

“Okay.  Just—Maggie, here’s the thing.  If you do juice again, can you please at least let me give you some training before you’re out in the field as a super? Please? I care about you too.”  Maggie smiled as Kara softened, clearly having been worried about her in addition to Alex.

“Of course.”  Alex nodded at both of them, enjoying the moment, but really wanting her sister to leave without having to be rude.  She had agreed with every point that Kara had brought up, hoping it would expedite the lecturing. 

“Well, I think that was enough for today. I need to fly by a grocery store on the way home.  I haven’t gone in forty-eight hours, so my fridge is empty.” 

As soon as Supergirl was gone, Maggie let out the sigh she hadn’t realized she was holding. 

“Do you think she noticed anything?”  Maggie said, still not moving, wishing she could.

“No.  And now that we’ve both experienced super-hearing and super-sight, we know she wouldn’t be able to see anything off either.”  Alex was immediately all over Maggie, stroking her face, her hair, not expecting her girlfriend to be able to move and reciprocate, but wanting to reassure her that after Maggie’s sweetness two nights ago she would absolutely be here to take care of the most gorgeous detective she’d ever laid eyes on.

“Mmm.”  Maggie hummed out when Alex started peppering her cheek with kisses.  She let Alex kiss her a dozen, then two dozen, then three dozen times.  She knew how scared she felt when Alex was letting her body drain of the synthetic blend, so she could only imagine how much her current inability to move her own arms and legs more than an inch or so scared Alex.

“Do you want to stay like this or lay down more?”  Alex asked, keeping a hand on Maggie’s cheek.

“I’m fi—okay, I could actually lay down.  That would be more comfortable.  But still on the couch.”  Maggie caught herself, having resolved to talk more openly with Alex after what they’ve begun referring to as the “Emily Incident”.  She didn’t need to cover things up with Alex. 

And she didn’t want to.

“Okay.  Here.”  Alex moved some pillows down to one end, then moved Maggie so that she was reclined onto the pillows, moving herself down farther to put two skinny, yet muscular cotton-clad legs across her own, immediately massaging the calves. 

“This can’t possibly last that long, babe.  So no worrying tonight.  I mean it.”  Maggie yawned. 

When she had collapsed in exhaustion scarcely an hour before Supergirl arrived to lecture them both to sleep, Alex was beyond worried.  She knew that when the super-blend wore off they were warned they would feel like a train ran through them, as their bodies drained of the excess adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine and the bruises of any hits sustained that previously felt like nothing would set in. 

However, Alex had slept through her exhaustion period, and she wasn’t quite expecting Maggie’s to seem so harsh.  After all, she had flown a little, but she hadn’t used her powers to fight or actually stop any bullets.  So when Maggie immediately collapsed on the couch like an invisible train did indeed just hit her, Alex immediately jumped to her side, one hand stroking Maggie’s face, the other hand with her phone out dialing Eliza for help. 

If this was a side effect of the super-juice for someone whose body _didn’t_ reject it, Alex wasn’t so sure it was worth it for Maggie to use it either. 

 

 


	6. To Every Plan There Must Be a Downside

 

“Margaret Sawyer, you are under arrest for racketeering, treason, and ten counts of tampering with evidence at a crime scene.  You have the right to remain silent.”  Alex began reading Maggie her Miranda rights, trying to sound forceful.  It wasn’t working.  She couldn’t stop the shaking in her voice. It’s not that she’d never imagined throwing handcuffs on her girlfriend, but the fantasy circumstances were considerably different.

“You need to be rougher.  Make this believable.”  Maggie whispered over her shoulder as Alex cuffed her and started a pat-down. 

“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you in a court of law.”  She nodded at Maggie, but she couldn’t be rougher.  It wasn’t real. But it felt real.  And after booking, Maggie would be in a very real, very alien-criminal overrun National City holding facility. 

Alex was actually surprised how easy it was to frame Maggie.  All it took was some twisting of the NCPD’s own policies, making certain crime scenes sound as though they were tampered with using science terms that Alex had completely made-up on the spot.  When this plan was all over, Alex was going to have the government come down hard on the NCPD.  How did Maggie’s fellow cops at the science division not know that “anti-plasmatic-sound wave resonance” was something completely fabricated? And even if it were real, how on earth would they believe that Maggie manipulated it from being used as evidence?

Or did they really believe that Maggie was an evil genius?

“Alex, throw me in the cop car.  Don’t ease me in. You need to look pissed.”  Maggie was trying to coach Alex through the very carefully orchestrated public arrest, but Alex’s head was elsewhere. 

Maggie would be in jail.  Maggie was going to jail to study the criminals who were constantly in and out, see if she could get some names, or what was connecting the various groups throughout the city that seemed to operate independently, yet all seemed to know each other. 

Maggie was going to jail without any super juice, which scared Alex the most.  She knew her girlfriend wasn’t someone who was afraid to ruffle a few feathers, and without super-strength or a weapon, she wouldn’t stand a chance if a fight broke out. 

Alex was trying to be patient while Eliza tinkered with the synthetic blend—hopefully making one that Alex’s body wouldn’t reject, while making a second personalized one for Maggie that didn’t involve her spending nine hours unable to move from exhaustion after using it.  But it was a process, and she knew that.  Alex knew her mother wouldn’t let they try anything again until she was very confident they wouldn’t have adverse effects.

In the meantime, the crime syndicate in National City kept growing and growing.  The DEO noticed a disturbing trend where aliens from different planets, different galaxies even, were starting to work together.  And it needed to be stopped, or it would spread into an entire take over.

This was no longer a few bad eggs trickling in.  This was turning into a take-over.  And Maggie decided, super juice or not, she was going to get to the bottom of it. 

So when Alex put a minimal effort into throwing her into the back of an FBI car, Maggie really played it up.

“Ouch! Watch it, agent! Cops still have rights!  Even arrested ones!” 

Alex got into the front of the car, ignoring the crowd that had gathered at the scene of the arrest. 

This is what they needed to do, even if she didn’t like it. 

* * *

 

The first night without Maggie was harder than Alex had thought it would be.  Really, she hadn’t thought about it at all.  The agent was so caught up in not liking Maggie’s plan to study the criminal groups as a fellow criminal that she didn’t think about what it would feel like to be separated from Maggie. 

And, of course, it was only for four days.  That would be three nights without Maggie.  It was the longest Alex and Maggie had ever been apart in months, having fallen into an easy rotation: a few nights at Alex’s, a few nights at Maggie’s, on the weekends they’d sleep in whatever apartment they were closer to: Alex’s if they were hanging out at Kara’s, Maggie’s place if they were stumbling back from the bar. 

Never, ever apart for three whole nights. 

Alex poured scotch into a glass, knowing there was no way she was falling asleep without it.  She had already _tried_ to go to bed.  That was the problem.

Alex got ready for bed in her usual routine, minus all the parts to which she had become accustomed.  She changed into sleep sweats and a small t-shirt.  There was no banter with Maggie, no fingers running over her back as she changed, no kiss on her shoulder blade before the baby tee was pulled up and over. 

She had tried brushing her teeth, pausing, seeing the second toothbrush in the cup.

_I hope they at least give Maggie a toothbrush in prison._

They had to, right?  They had to give them basics, like food, clothing, a cot…hopefully a toothbrush. Alex thought about Maggie sleeping on a cot in an orange jumpsuit, shaking her head. 

Trying to reminder herself it was only for four days. 

She climbed into the bed, not knowing where to lay.  Should she stay on her side? Move to the middle? She settled for sleeping on Maggie’s side, nuzzling her pillow, trying to pick up on her scent.  Alex was fairly certain that the smaller, dark-haired woman never caught on that Alex didn’t actually ever _need_ to be in bed by eleven.  She climbed into bed with Maggie every night to feel Maggie.

It was too cold, and uncomfortable.  She surrounded herself with pillows, wrapping the blankets tight around her body, even sticking a pillow behind her back to mimic Maggie as the big spoon.  But it was just a cool lump.  No arm securing her around her waist.  No lips on the back of her neck. 

No “Goodnight.” 

No “I love you.” 

That’s when Alex got up to get the scotch. 


	7. Full Attention

 

Maggie lay on her side, keeping her back to the wall, face out at the other inmates.  Her eyes darted around the semi-darkness, as all of the lights were never actually out in jail.  It was a distraction she was grateful for, since she currently trusted nobody else in the room.

Her plan was _not_ working so far in the slightest.  She had hoped being thrown into jail as a dirty cop would stimulate some conversation.  Someone in there somewhere had to have been looking for a cop they could pay off—or she at least had hoped to be accepted into their conversations so she could start digging. 

The problem was that there were no conversations happening.  None. 

Maggie realized as soon as she was in National City’s pre-trial holding facility with what she could tell were twenty-five other women in her wing, all appearing to be aliens in some way or another, that the room as completely silent except for conversations between the guards. 

Nothing.  She could have heard a pin drop, if pins weren’t considered contraband and taken away from everyone upon entry.

The detective supposed she was in some way lucky; at least her being the only human in the room wasn’t cause for her to become a target—or her being the only cop.  She also considered herself lucky that she wasn’t in holding with anyone she had personally recognized as someone she arrested.  “Dirty” cop or not, that certainly would have made her a target.  But when she was shoved in the giant common room, nobody even batted an eye in her direction.

The silence was maddening.  Nobody seemed to have lost their hearing or their voices, as they would still listen to and interact verbally with the guards. 

So why was everyone choosing to be completely silent?  They all played cards without saying a word.  They read books…some just stared off at the television in the common area, some appeared to be in the television area but really were staring off at a wall. 

Whatever it was, it unnerved Maggie to no end, and even in bed at the end of the day, her eyes continued to bounce from inmate to inmate, wondering why nobody was speaking.

She knew the chances of her relaxing enough to sleep were going to be close to zero. 

* * *

 

“Hey! Alex! There are donuts in the break—okay, she’s in a hurry. That’s cool.  Mornings are rough.  More donuts for me.” Winn noticed that Alex blew right past him, heading right for the screens overhead that showed the news, the tracking location of any alien suspects they were tracking, not caring who she almost knocked over on the way. 

J’onn’s ears immediately perked up, with Agent Danvers and her gruff entrance, her puffy, purple bagged-eyes catching his attention.  He never used his psychic powers on anyone in the friend group that had slowly become his earth family unless he truly believed they were in danger.  So, he fought the urge, instead choosing to observe the agent’s behaviors. 

“You’re in early.”  Supergirl appeared next to Alex, who was typing something onto a keyboard. 

“So are you.”  She snapped back.  “Is she--”

“Didn’t even make a mention in the newsreel.  Just like I promised.”  Her sister softened, seeing how tense Alex was when she was worried about Maggie. 

“I can’t even go see her until three, and even then, I have to pretend I’m interrogating her.”  Alex zoomed in the security camera she had on the jail, watching who was going in and out, full well knowing it would only be employees this early in the morning.

“I’ve been watching, Alex.  Just like I promised.”  Alex nodded, but didn’t look away from the screen.  Supergirl zoomed away for a split second, returning with a cup of coffee, handing it to Alex.  The red-head nodded her thanks, keeping her eyes glued to the screen. 

J’onn continued watching, seeing that Alex’s hands shook trying to hold the coffee.  He knew that Alex’s sister would, out of care, try to send her home.  She’d tell her to ‘get some sleep’ before she could go see Maggie and try to convince her to go home.  J’onn knew that it would be the worst thing to suggest to Alex, and that if they had any hope of Alex not completely unravelling with worry over the next few days, they needed to keep her as occupied as possible. Even if it was only to prevent her mind from racing through worst-case scenarios. 

Alex looked exhausted, eyes glazed over as they watched the screens.  J’onn was worried enough that he felt he had no choice.  He focused in on Alex, using his mind to listen, blocking out any background chatter. 

_She has to be okay.  I need to see that she’s okay.  I shouldn’t have let her do this before we finished the new super-juice formula. Or we shouldn’t have sent her alone.  She’s all alone in there right now with the worst criminals we’ve seen.  What kind of a girlfriend am I? Who lets someone do that when—_

J’onn stopped listening, knowing Alex was overtired and starting to spiral out of control.  He took out his cell phone, making sure nobody could see his screen before sending out an encrypted text message, then immediately deleting his message history.

“Agent Danvers.”  Alex at least wasn’t too tired to stand at attention and face him.  “Supergirl and Winn are going to keep an eye on the entrances to the jail.  If you don’t have to be there until three, then we have time for a workout.  Meet me down in the garage in ten. And wear your all-weather gear.”  He walked away then purposefully, not giving Alex time to argue. 

* * *

 

Maggie startled awake, hearing the buzz of the door to the sleeping area open with trays of presumably breakfast being rolled in.  She blinked awake, becoming aware of her surroundings.  One guard, clearly in charge of the other guards, barked out orders for giving out the breakfast trays: One package of cereal, a piece of fruit, and a milk carton for each prisoner. 

The other inmates kept silent as they sat up and waited for their cereal, clearly each of them had been here longer than Maggie and seemed accustomed to the routine.  Maggie smirked to herself.

_At least they’re consistent criminals._

The door buzzed again, and a tall, skinny man with glasses in a full suit walked in.  The detective immediately sized him up.  The suit was too cheap for him to be somebody’s attorney, but the full three-piece, briefcase, and wing-tipped shoes all nicely matched told her he was an educated professional of some sort.  Not snazzy enough to be a judge, too classy to be the warden.  Maggie noticed that many of the inmates, in their piercing silence, sat up straight, suddenly becoming nervously interested in their off-brand corn flakes. 

“Don’t worry.  If he picks you, we’ll coach you through what to do.  It seems terrible, but it’s over quickly.  And don’t make eye contact with him.  He takes it as a challenge, and then the Scarecrow will pick you for sure.” 

Maggie’s eyes darted around trying to figure out where the voice had come from.  Nobody else heard it, the guards still going about their business, passing out trays to the women as they sit up on their cots. 

She smacked her own forehead, finally getting it.

It’s not that they weren’t communicating with each other.  Aliens. 

They were communicating telepathically. 

* * *

 

Alex had quit pestering J’onn about where they were going early into the ride, the giant black Cadillac Escalade handling the opportunity to drive off-road while Alex looked out of the tinted windows at their surroundings. 

They had been driving for forty minutes, give or take, outside of the city.  J’onn stopped the car in front of a mountain, popping the locks and hopping out. 

“J’onn, seriously? Mountain climbing? You know I can climb a mountain twice this size in my sleep.  Am I not worth an actual challenge right now?”

J’onn smiled and shook his head.  Feisty Alex was a determined Alex.  It was an Alex that he knew could possibly actually make it through what was next.  Because he needed a super Alex for National City to survive, desperately needed it. 

And the damn synthetic blend was taking too long. 

“It might not look like a challenge, but I promise you it’s a worth warm up.”  The commander took a small, hard case that looked slightly too small for eyeglasses out of his pocket.  He easily popped open the latch, opening the container to show a single small, blue flower. 

He removed the flower carefully with two fingers, holding it out to Alex. 

“Gee, J’onn.  It’s not even my birthday.  You shouldn’t have.” 

“Take this flower to the top of the mountain.  You should consider that I’m not actually doing your training today—that’s the real present.  But this is the first task before we get to all of that: This flower needs to be taken all the way to the top of that mountain completely unharmed.  Not a single petal missing, or bent, so I will highly recommend not chancing a pocket.” 

Alex nodded, starting to get confused.  J’onn rarely deviated from traditional training methods.  When he did, it was along the lines of rolling a tractor tire across a field in summer heat, not the beginning of a very pretty, but from what Alex could see useless floral arrangement. 

Still, Alex was an agent, and she was being given an order.  She put the stem of the flower gently between her teeth, immediately sizing up the best path to the top of the mountain. 

 

 


	8. Hauntings of the Past

 

This mountain was nothing.  A mountain climb was indeed a warm up for special agent Danvers.  It reminded her of her initial boot camp training, where at the end of their three hell weeks of being screamed at, crawling through mud, running in the rain, and in general beating their bodies into top shape, herself and the other new recruits were let loose on a mountain side with nothing but a knife, flint, and a tarp, and told they had to survive for the next few days with no supplies. 

After that experience, agent Danvers was convinced she could survive through anything with little to no resources.  Also, being on a mountain didn’t scare her one bit. 

As long as there weren’t any bats.

By the time she climbed up to the top, flower still perched between her front teeth unscathed, she felt much better than she had when she had initially walked into the DEO.  The fresh air was already calming, and getting her blood pumping woke her up better than any coffee. 

“Less than thirty-minutes, bottom to top.  Alex, you’re almost beating my time.” 

Alex looked up, the flower dropping to the floor.

“Dad.”  Alex ran over, giving Jeremiah a hug.  “How are you—I really thought after the last time Cadmus would have dragged you off to some hell planet.” 

“Shhh.  It’s okay.  I still have to play dumb with them, but J’onn can contact me when absolutely necessary.”  He let Alex keep her arms wrapped around his massive shoulders, face buried in his neck.  She was in overload.   

After fourteen years, she had become accustomed to not having Jeremiah around.  Now, he was back and gone, back, gone, back again—it was hard for Alex to think through how she felt about that in her current lack of sleep condition. She followed him into the wooden structure at the top of the mountain, a large, imposing open-air building without proper walls on one of the sides.  She could see clearly into it that there were fight dummies, an area with a padded floor and a giant circle drawn on it, and the distinct smell of sweat as soon as she walked through the front, wide-open doorway.

Clearly, this was a training facility that had been here for quite some time.

“Is everything okay?  Is Cadmus after us again?  I mean they’re always after us, that’s a given…”

“Actually, they think I’m here procuring samples.” 

“Of what?”  Alex let go, letting Jeremiah step back.  He moved to pick up the flower she had dropped. 

“Of these.  I suppose it’s a lucky coincidence then that you happen to be on this exact mountain right now for me to train you.”  He smiled, with Alex’s smile soon following. 

She’d always dreamed of being able to train with her father.  Working with him to free the kidnapped aliens was as close as she ever thought she’d get.  But now, here he was. 

“Alex, this is where J’onn was trained.  This is where we took an average, everyday Martian and taught him how to be Hank Henshaw.  We used his natural abilities and had him hone in on his skills.  If you’d like, we can do the same for you.” 

“Who’s we?” 

Jeremiah cracked a smile.  “We’ll get to that.  There are organizations a lot bigger, and a lot older than CADMUS.” 

* * *

 

Maggie watched as the man she had now heard referred to as the Scarecrow circled around, sizing up the inmate population like a vulture intending to swoop down.  Immediately, the chatter grew louder in her head.  The small man wasn’t physically intimidating, but the look in his eyes, his sneer—it was all pure predator.

“ _It’s not so bad…it’s only terrible for like a minute, and then he brings you out.”_

_“Yeah, but sometimes they come out and don’t get to come back out here.  Sometimes he takes them right to the asylum.”_

_“Hey, he did it to me and I’m still here, right?  I mean it doesn’t mean I want to go back there again. Ever.  But still.”_

Maggie new she couldn’t answer anyone, but at least she felt a little safer knowing they trusted her to loop her into their thoughts.  She could tell by the way he was looking for a specific client, hired by her attorney, that he was the shrink.  No wonder everyone had started chattering.

In her younger years, in college and shortly thereafter, Maggie Sawyer had tried therapy.  Needless to say, her immediate tensing at hearing that the man everyone was afraid of was a psychologist also made her remember that particular time in her life.  The experience was less than enjoyable. 

Maggie remembered seeking out therapy to try to work through just how angry she had become as a young adult.  She was angry at her parents for tossing her out with the trash on garbage day. She was angry at her first love, feeling betrayed.  She was angry at the two women who followed, for a variety of reasons. 

But she knew that each time she experienced an inevitable heartbreak, she got angrier.  And angrier. 

She was angry enough to easy end up in bar fights, getting tossed out of nightclubs she wasn’t really old enough to be inside in the first place.  She had been a shitty girlfriend at the time, and she knew it—defenses flying up as soon as someone indicated they were falling in love with her.  Maggie knew that meant they could never be trusted.  Not really. 

This was before Maggie Sawyer was the feisty work-a-holic, before Maggie contained her drinking to a single scotch or beer outside of working hours, before Maggie learned that not everyone has a dark side that’s going to eventually get her if she loves them long enough. 

Before she had decided that Alex was worth trying, truly trying for.  When she only knew to run out of the room when a conversation was going to be uncomfortable. When Maggie was the life of the party, because the entertainment wasn’t expected to share feelings, or personal thoughts, or really think of doing anything other than fighting and fucking.  When Maggie always had a girlfriend, even if it was someone she didn’t really love, because sex was the only time she let anyone get a little big close to her, as though a few hours a week would truly fill the void.

Back when Maggie Sawyer was a complete and utter mess, feeling like nobody on this planet truly cared for her, and barely keeping a lid on it. 

If her parents could toss her outside like a can of coffee grinds, the people who were supposed to love her—no matter what, then nobody was safe.  Maggie went through that revolving door of women, making serial monogamy a sport.  Not even friends were safe.  She could have friends, of course, but superficially—nobody was getting in again.  Nobody was going to get close enough to betray her. Nobody could be trusted.

It was miserable.

So she had tried to go to counseling. 

It did not go well. And it was a memory she did not want to relive


	9. Let it Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I am hoping this starts to make up for so many too short chapters. More to come :)

 

Maggie sat in the interrogation room, waiting for this “Scarecrow” psychologist.

Of course he picked her. 

Of course he could look around and tell she was a fresh face. 

Immediately after he had identified her for “psychological evaluation”, the chatter in her head started.

“ _You’ll try not to inhale. It’s pointless.  Just let go and don’t try to fight it.”_

_“You’re going to freak out.  It’s okay to scream, but don’t move your arms around or try to run away. Those are the people we never see come back out again.”_

_“It’s not so bad.”_

_“Yes, it is, and you screamed just like the rest of us.”_

So Maggie sat patiently, hands handcuffed together, thumbs rubbing against each other on the table. She was trying to piece together exactly what this guy did, but none of the voices in her head were making sense. 

* * *

 

“Good.  Nice footwork.”  Jeremiah swung his sword again, barely missing Alex’s left shoulder, as she quickly squared off with him again.  She had no problem dodging or blocking his attacks, but he knew his daughter’s strikes were nowhere near cutting it. 

“I know you’re used to relying on a gun, Alex, but I promise you this will help you.”  Alex nodded, taking the offensive again. 

She hit Jeremiah’s sword down, lunging in.  It was a good strike.  But she was holding back. 

A lot.

“Alex, strike me.  I’m going to stop using sparring strikes.  I suggest you do the same.” 

Alex had no problem with that.  She was wearing a strange, leather-based armor that Jeremiah had covered her and himself in, and they were using dull swords.  The coverings were well worn and smelled slightly of sweat.  Without the fear of being cut, she wasn’t worried about taking a hit. 

Jeremiah started attempting quick strikes, closer to a fencing match than the traditional two-handed large swipes he had been taking. 

Alex was fast.  She quickly blocked each strike, also switching to one-hand, easily throwing off her father’s footing.  Somehow, even after all these years, his movements felt familiar.  There was some innate knowing of how the man moved.  Alex took what should have been a hit to his chest to finish him off.

It was too soft again. 

“Alex.”  She looked up at him, hoping her puppy-eyes still worked as an adult. 

“You need to hit me.”

“I don’t want to hit you, Dad.  We’re just sparring.” 

“You do want to hit me, though.  You’re just pretending you don’t.”

Jeremiah came after Alex again, raising his sword to make a large slash, which Alex dodged. 

“I don’t.  Why would I want to hit you?”

“I can think of a few reasons.”  Jeremiah unleashed on Alex, forcing her to either up her game or be taken out.  She was dodging his attacks more than she was trying to gain the upper hand. 

“C’mon, Alex.  I ditch you and your mother, your sister, for fourteen years and that’s the best you can swing a sword at me?”  He attacked again, Alex jumping up on a wooden crate, then leaping over his head to higher ground. 

“That wasn’t your fault.” Strike. Slash. Clash.

“But it was.”  Swoosh.  Cling. “It was a choice.  I _chose_ to be a Cadmus patsy for the greater good.”

“Exactly.  Like you said, to keep us safe.”

“It was still a choice.  And I know it bothers you.”  _It should bother you_ was the part of that sentence Jeremiah chose to keep inside. 

“It’s not much of a choice.” 

“Really?  Because a crappy choice is still a choice.  I chose to leave you girls behind and not check in on you.  I chose to just disappear.”  _I thought it would be easier if you thought I was dead.  I feel dead._

Alex started to pick up speed and strength, hitting Jeremiah’s sword at more damaging angles, the vibrations from the collisions causing his hands to vibrate. 

“It didn’t bother you at all that I was alive this whole time, and didn’t stop in to teach you how to drive?  I didn’t help you pack up for college?  How was your first date, Alex? Because I have no idea.” 

It was finally clicking.  Alex was striking with full force, attempting to sweep out Jeremiah’s feet from under him.  It almost worked.

Almost.

“As far as I know, Alex Danvers, your favorite movie is still the Lion King, and your favorite color is a stain from your first chemistry set overflowing onto the carpet.  If I wasn’t told that I was going to jump into a DEO landing track, I wouldn’t have even been able to pick you out of a crowd.”

Alex unleashed a fury of slashes that she didn’t know she had in her. 

“Fine!  Yes, I’m angry!  I’m ANGRY, Dad! If I should even call you that!  You’re right, we are strangers now, so let me introduce myself.” Alex slash-hacked until Jeremiah’s sword flew out of his hands, him backing up, looking for a replacement weapon to grab. 

“My name is Alex Danvers.  Every major life event, every life milestone has been _just fine_.  I have an amazing sister and mother and friends and a girlfriend and I have had no problem doing and learning everything myself.  Because I have had support the whole way.” Alex backed Jeremiah into a corner, this time successfully sweeping out his feet, the large man landing on his back, causing vibrations to ripple across the floor as Alex moved the sword tip to his neck. 

“But you still should have been there.  Not because I needed you.  I don’t need you.  But because you should have _wanted_ to be there.” 

* * *

 

“Fine. Not a talker.  I understand.  But perhaps I can change your mind.  Would you like to see my mask?”  The man put his briefcase on the table across from Maggie, who was still sitting with her arms crossed. 

She had decided that playing mute would be her quickest way out of this evaluation.  And then hopefully everything would go according to plan, and Alex would be here shortly. 

“I don’t think my mask is particularly scary, but sometimes your little criminal peers think it’s simply terrifying.”  The thin man opened his briefcase, pulling out what looked like little more than a small burlap-style sack with eye holds and a cross-stick mouth. 

Before Maggie had time to un-cock her eyebrow, smoke started pouring out of a little spout on the briefcase, and the psychologist was wearing the mask. 

Maggie coughed, the drug clearly having some effect, as her hearing and sight blurred.  It wasn’t enough to completely disorient her, but it magnified the mask. 

After a mere ten seconds or so, the mask came off. 

“You’re not screaming.”  He said, waving his hand around to clear the smoke.

“No shit, doc.  It’s just a bag.”  Maggie coughed, also trying to clear the smoke.  She was slightly nauseated, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

He stared at her, mouth open, clearly shocked.  This was _not_ how a hallucinogenic gassing was supposed to go.

Maggie was _supposed_ to see him as terrifying.  She was supposed to see a vision of that which scared her the most.  She was supposed to scream and beg, and then he would fill out the paper giving him the authority to take her to the asylum with the others.

What the Scarecrow didn’t know was that a victim won’t see what scares them the most if they’ve already lived through it and moved on. 

After living through her parents tossing her out and Maggie spending the first week sleeping in abandoned barns by herself, not knowing what would happen to her and surviving it. 

Not just surviving, but thriving—nothing scared her. 

The psychologist continued to just stare, until a C.O. knocking on the door jogged him out of his stupor. 

“Are you done in here?  Sawyer’s due for questioning by the FBI.  I don’t know what she did, but it must have been something big.” 

* * *

 

Jeremiah handed Alex a container of coconut water, opening one for himself and sitting next to Alex on the ground.  He made no move to tend to his cuts and bruises, having let Alex punch out her frustrations—fourteen years’ worth of them. 

She had dropped the sword, and just started letting him have it.  She let him know exactly every moment he had missed—her teaching herself how to drive a car by looking it up on the internet and sneaking out at night to practice, every graduation, every time she wanted him to have been there for something, every time she sat around wishing her father weren’t dead so he could be there. 

Jeremiah didn’t fight back.  He knew Alex didn’t know the whole story, but he still felt like he deserved it.  He let her punch until she exhausted herself.  Now he waited patiently for Alex to speak. 

“I know we can’t get back all of the times that you weren’t there for.”  Alex took a long drink, pausing to look out over the side of the mountain.  “But, you can start being back for it now.  Are you back?”  Jeremiah could tell from the way Alex asked that she didn’t want to turn her head to look him in the eye. 

“I want to get to know you now.  I know that I don’t know you, as a grown, adult woman.  I knew you as a little girl. Cadmus still has to think I’m working for them. But I have a lot more freedom now than I used to, thanks to a lot of help from J’onn.  I can’t come over for movie nights—I haven’t even seen a movie since 2003, but I can carve out an couple of hours here and there to meet up here. I know it’s not a real father-daughter relationship, not that I deserve that, but it’s something.  Alex, I want us to have _something_ , I…”

Jeremiah trailed off, preparing himself to be told to get his soldier butt back to Cadmus and never come back. 

“Okay.” Alex said, finally turning her head to face Jeremiah. 

“Okay.”  He said back, moving to put his arm around his daughter.

* * *

 

“Where’s Alex?” Maggie asked, cocking her head at the person across the table from her handcuffed wrists for the second time in one day. 

The detective had been surprised to find that instead of Alex coming in, as planned, to discuss what Maggie had found out so far, Kara was posing as an FBI agent—surprisingly well.  Her hair was pulled back in a bun, glasses on, full black power-suit.  If Maggie didn’t know her personally, she would have absolutely believed this was an FBI agent with a major beef to settle.  The way she confidently strolled in gave everyone the impression that there would be no time for bullshit today.

“Thank you, I’ll take it from here.”  Kara said in a no-nonsense way, signaling to the guard to leave the room. 

Once the door was closed, Maggie couldn’t stop herself. 

“Seriously, Kara.  What happened to Alex? _What_ happened?!”  Maggie didn’t know if she should be worried or not, which means she automatically was.

“Here’s the thing, Maggie.  Alex had to step away for a special training.”

“What sort of a special--”

Kara waved her off.  “That’s for her to discuss once you’re out of here.  If she wants to. So, I told the DEO that I would step in for her, check in on you in her place, and maybe we could use this as an opportunity for a chat.”

Maggie’s eyebrow arched. The disappointment at not seeing Alex was switching to anxiety, but years of police training taught her not to show it. 

“Are you okay in here?”  Kara asked, sitting down across from the smaller woman. 

“I’m fine.  There are a whole bunch of things going on here that I don’t understand yet.  But I’ll get to the bottom of it.” 

“Do you need anything from us?” 

Maggie paused and thought for a moment.  Even if what she needed wasn’t possible, it couldn’t hurt to ask.  “Yes.  I know that Eliza is working on changing the synthetic blend for Alex to be able to use without side effects.  Do you think it’s possible for her to change the blend, and swap out one of the strands for one of J’onn’s?”  Maggie had no idea if it was possible.  She wasn’t a scientist, that was Alex’s deal, only adding to the disappointment of not seeing Alex today. 

“Huh. I don’t know.  I guess it’s worth a shot for us to try. Why J’onn?”

“We need to be able to communicate telepathically.”  Maggie said.  The simple sentence let Kara know everything she had found out so far, and what she intended to do about it. 

“I can work on that.  I honestly don’t know, but I can ask.”  Maggie nodded gratefully.  Any bit of help was appreciated.

“Good then.”  Kara nodded back, hesitating before continuing.  “Maggie, what are your intentions with Alex?”

“What do you mean?”  Maggie asked genuinely, not understanding the shift in conversation. 

“Well,” Kara paused for a labored exhale, trying to think of a way to articulate her thoughts, “you’re hard to read.  We like you, Maggie.  Everyone does.  But—it’s just first Alex likes you, but then you don’t like her back and I’m holding my broken sister in tears.  But then she’s fine a week later, because it turns out you do like her.  But then she’s in pieces because you do things that push her away.  I don’t know all the details, but I do know when Alex comes into work with no spring in her step whatsoever. But then you’re always here for her.  You hop in at a moment’s notice.  You know when to let her run off on her wild hunches and just be supportive, but also when to step in and make her relax or re-think. I see how you look at her when she’s looking at something else.  I notice when you reach out to touch her anytime you’re talking about her—you’re constantly in connection.  I don’t know.  It’s confusing. And hard to figure out where you stand.” 

Maggie started to feel guilty.  Of course, Alex would confide in her sister.  And the beginnings of their relationship were riddled with regrets.  Regrets of the times she pushed Alex away when she was afraid.  Or of the times she didn’t push away, but she also didn’t open up.  Their first Valentine’s Day.  The way Maggie never spoke of her exes until circumstances forced her to. The small, yet imposing detective didn’t necessarily want to share with her girlfriend’s sister that Alex was teaching her how to have an open, honest, trusting relationship, but she was.  And Kara was important to Alex, so her concern was only fair. 

She bit the inside of her cheek, not knowing how to explain to someone that if she were shot, stabbed, and ran over by a train all at once, she was confident she would feel nothing but fine of at the end she got to see Alex’s face, feel Alex’s hand in hers. That she would do anything for those big, hazel puppy eyes, even if it scared her.

“Are you still going to be here when it gets hard for Alex?”  Kara asked abruptly.  “Because I believe that you care about her, but when it gets hard—and it’s about to get very, very hard for Alex, at least emotionally—are you going to be here? I know emotions aren’t your strong point, and pft-I’m not one to judge, but I need to kn--”

“I love her.  Maggie said, definitively.  Kara met the dark, strong eyes that didn’t show a flinch of fear.  “I love her, so if it’s about to get hard, _very hard_ , I want to be here.  For her.”  Maggie knew she wasn’t going to go wishy-washy on Alex ever again. 

She was all-in. 

“Okay then.  We need to talk about Jeremiah, who’s training Alex today.” Maggie’s eyebrows shot up.  The eyebrows that would probably need a break after the workout they’ve gotten today. 

“Jeremiah’s back?  Training Alex for what?” Kara had a split second to decide that she trusted Maggie.  That Maggie was about to become, irreversibly, part of the family. 

“For the League of Shadows.” 

Kara and Maggie sat, staring intensely at each other, the words functioning as a flash grenade. 

The door opened.

“Time’s up with the inmate.”


	10. Strength

Maggie spotted her badge, laid gently on the kitchen counter next to a piping hot cup of coffee. 

Alex was thoughtful like that.  Whenever she came home at night and Alex had that look in her eye—the animalistic look that always immediately affected Maggie, it told her that her clothes, her badge could end up thrown anywhere.  Behind the furniture, under the bed, sometimes the bathroom. 

But Alex always made sure in the morning her badge was waiting for her on the kitchen counter.  Even though Maggie still didn’t technically live with her, they were staying at Alex’s pretty much six out of seven nights a week, with one night at Maggie’s place as a reminder that they were still in a double-rent phase of their relationship.  Maggie’s apartment was at this point a very expensive, out-of-the-way closet. 

Especially since Alex had started taking small doses of the new synthetic blend, with Eliza and J’onn hoping that by taking out one of the Daxomite strands, and by putting in a little bit of Martian, and giving Alex very small doses over time to let her body get used to it that there wouldn’t be another adverse reaction.

So far, they were correct.  But the blend was having some interesting side effects, and was definitely affecting Alex’s body. 

If Alex were being honest, the changes scared her.  Because she was being slow-dosed, her senses were increasing bit-by-bit, so when she did notice an enhancement, it was shocking. 

Her hearing was clear, picking up conversations through the walls.  Her sense of smell was heightened—she always knew what the breakfast special was at the little café across the street.  And, she was starting to fly. 

Well, float, really.  Not so much with the super-speed like Kara.  But there was definitely anti-gravity lift-off. 

The first time she realized she could float, and control it, was about a week after her first training session with Jeremiah. She had started getting dosed, every day, a tiny shot with a tiny bit. 

And it hadn’t made her sick. 

But each day, her ears, her nose, her muscular strength—slight, tiny increases. 

Until one day, Maggie was mopping Alex’s kitchen floor.  Yeah, Maggie was over so much that she just helped Alex with cleaning and laundry—half of it was hers anyway. 

“Damn it!”  Maggie yelled at herself, as soon as she finished mopping the tile in the kitchen area. 

“What?”

“I mean to grab my coffee and bring it out here before I mopped.  I guess I’m just going to have to wait.  And then re-heat it in the….ugghhh.” 

Maggie _hated_ microwaved coffee. 

Alex walked over to Maggie, still with the mop in her hand.  She kissed her forehead, grinning, and then preparing for lift-off. 

Maggie watched as Alex floated over to the mug on the counter, jaw dropped. 

That was certainly not something she expected on a typical Sunday morning. 

“Babe.  You can fly.”  Maggie stated more than asked. 

Alex smirked, nodding. 

It was the beginning of a very interesting time of their lives. 

* * *

 

Alex knew her strength was growing.  But she never knew by how much. 

So when Maggie licked her way down the agent’s stomach, stopping to nuzzle the small triangle of red hair between her legs, she immediately gripped the sheets. 

 _Do not grab Maggie’s head_.

She’d already gotten sick from this the early version of this serum, she didn’t want to add “ripped hair from girlfriend’s head” to the list. 

But Maggie was teasing her.  Not because she meant to be teasing, but because she really, _really_ enjoyed taking her time with Alex.  Maggie liked to feel with the tip of her nose, drawing circles while inhaling Alex’s scent.  It made Alex buck up, knowing she was nowhere close yet to the touches that would make her come. 

“God. Maggie.”  She gripped the sheets harder, knowing she’d rather rip a sheet than rip off Maggie’s hand or a finger. 

Maggie moved into gentle kisses, staying on the outer lips. Alex knew she was actually lucky, and that the dark-haired sex goddess between her legs showed mercy by not starting this routine with her underwear still on. There were nights where she would swear Maggie was seeing if she could make Alex unravel with just her breath.

Maggie kissed her way up and down her lips, her hand moving to gently stroke Alex’s mound. 

That’s when the sheets started to rip.  And Maggie hadn’t even spread her open yet. 

_Don’t grab her head. You can do this, Alex._

The detective smirked, hearing the sounds sneaking out of her girlfriend’s mouth, letting her tongue come out to lick straight up Alex’s center.  The squeal that came out of Alex while bowing her back made Maggie not give a damn about the shredded sheets. 

Alex shot a hand up, almost grabbing at Maggie’s head, before catching herself.  She tucked her hands under her backside for good measure. 

The long, slow, vertical licks were driving Alex slowly insane, her breath panting, fingers under her ass having ripped through the sheets and now clawing into the mattress.  Until Maggie moved her mouth up, starting to suck.

Her hands flew out again to Maggie’s hair, touching for a second before Alex caught herself and pulled them back. 

“Shit.”  She muttered, trying to figure out how to pin her hands down. Maggie smiled, Alex’s clit still in her mouth, moving her hands up to feel for Alex’s wrists. 

Alex stiffened.  She ached to run her fingers through the dark softness between her thighs.

She really, really didn’t want to hurt Maggie, and the things the detective was doing with her mouth we are causing her to have less and less control.  She immediately balled her hands into fists over her belly button, feeling Maggie’s slender fingers gently wrap around them. 

“Maggie.” 

“Mmmhmmm.”  Came the answer, Alex feeling the vibrations of the response.  She shuddered, feeling Maggie’s fingertips start slipping between her clenched digits.

Alex only clenched them shut harder. 

If Maggie noticed, she didn’t let on, continuing to gently suck, letting out her soft moans in rhythm.  Her fingertips gently caressed Alex’s knuckles, waiting patiently, coaxing her hands to open even just a little bit. 

She continued her gentle movements, licking, purring, stroking, until Alex’s fists relaxed just enough, just that tiny bit, for Maggie to work her fingers in, lacing with Alex’s.  Maggie was truly, thoroughly enjoying herself, lost in scent and taste and warmth.

“Maggie.  Babe.”  Alex tensed again, terrified of ripping Maggie’s hands off her body.  She could feel the mattress on her backside from where she had ripped the sheets, she certainly didn’t want her lover to be next. 

The ball of dark hair between her legs bobbed up.

“Alex.  It’s okay.” 

Alex exhaled.  “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“You’re fine.  I promise.  I’m stronger than you think.”  Maggie dove back in, giving Alex’s hands a squeeze, re-affirming that she wanted Alex’s hands in her own. 

She licked down to Alex’s opening, using her tongue to lap at what was pouring out before going back to Alex’s very swollen, very enlarged bud.  Alex’s fingers twitched, Maggie squeezing right back, letting her know it was okay. 

“Oh my God, Maggie.”  Alex was panting, digging her elbows into her own sides.

_Don’t crush her hands._

Maggie knew exactly what Alex was doing, and started to move her head back and forth, _fast_ , with Alex’s clit still in her mouth. 

Alex’s head was thrown back, gasping, coming unexpectedly in a tense curl of pleasure.  For those few, blissful, short seconds she forgot all about holding back and holding on gently and holding on at all.  Maggie smiled at the legs shaking next to her ears, the familiar feeling of them closing in around her head letting her know Alex released for her.

Maggie waited patiently, gently kissing the softest part of Alex, knowing her fingers weren’t being crushed to the point of being broken.  But it did hurt, palms bright red.  They would probably have bruises from the grip as well.

She would never tell Alex that.  

It was worth it. 

 


	11. ...Oops

 

“Remember, honey, no flying late at night—at least, not until you’ve had more flight time. Even if Kara is doing it.” 

“Yes, Mom.  I know.  I’m not flying at night.  I can’t even go fast.” Alex rolled her eyes hard enough that her mother probably could have heard it through the phone. Alex didn’t understand why everyone was so concerned when she was barely floating these days.

“Alright.  I’m just reminding you.  I know you’re not reckless.  Also, no sugar. It used to make Kara excitable and less able to control her strength. It took a long time before she could handle sugar.” 

Alex looked around at her workstation in the war room at the DEO, at the snapped pencils, the mouse that she had clicked a hole clear through and couldn’t be bothered to unplug from the hard drive, the keyboard that was still somehow functional yet the letters were worn clear off…all of this from someone who spend less than twenty minutes a day standing at this station and had half a donut in the morning.

It wasn’t even a good donut. 

“Okay.  No sugar.  Got it.” 

“Ready?”  Kara came up to Alex’s side, met with a nod. 

“Mom, I gotta go.  Do you want to talk to Kara?” 

“Oh no that’s fine, sweetie.  I’ll call her later.  I know she’s suited up right now. Stay safe.” 

Alex put her cell back in its holster. 

“Ready?”

* * *

 

Alex was driving slow with her sister in the passenger seat when it happened. 

Maggie was itching to get to the bottom of the strange psychologist working for the government, and now that she was back in her post after being released with abundant apologies from her co-workers who were realizing they were too quick to throw her under the bus, she was feeding Alex and Kara intel multiple times a day.

Most of the time, Alex could observe little infractions. A tip leading to a very highly trained DEO agent viewing frequent jaywalking, littering, even once someone who was double parked that Maggie was _sure_ was one of the Scarecrow’s patients going to see him. 

They had still yet to find out where the Scarecrow’s office was, if he had one.

The man Alex had been following that day was going to the dentist. 

Still, Alex would always follow up, with Supergirl in tow.  It was a way to take a welcomed break between more difficult, physically taxing calls.

Alex cruised slowly, with reports that Maggie thought the Scarecrow’s private practice was with children.  She didn’t say why, just that she wanted the Super sisters to just take a peek around the National City Child Services building. 

“Donut?”  Kara offered, dressed in her civvies. 

Alex’s mind thought back to the destruction at her desk, shaking her head. 

The red-head thought for a moment that maybe she should take it.  Her sense of sound was starting to get fuzzy, like if she were low blood sugar.  Like there was too much noise, muffled, all at once, or her super-hearing wasn’t functioning properly. 

But she didn’t want to spoil sister bonding, even if it was a stake-out. 

“So.  What happened when you went over Mon-El’s last night?”

“Ugh. That.  He’s still acting so weird.”  Alex ignored her super hearing twitching, deciding it was a glitch.  She’d have to ask Eliza about it when they got back. 

“What do you mean?”

“He keeps fidgeting like he wants to say something, but then doesn’t.  He’s holding _something_ back.  I can’t tell if he wants to propose or tell me he’s been cheating.” Kara exhaled, and then inhaled an entire bear claw.

“Kara, just ask him.  It’s going to have to come out eventually, so you might as well make is sooner rather than later.” 

Kara scoffed. “Well, you’re one to talk.  You- you with the not asking Maggie why she’s _obsessed_ with this Scarecrow figure. You not wanting to talk to her about what happens when you go to train with Jeremiah.  I’m not the only one who could be talking.”

And then Alex heard it.

“ _Even if I still don’t completely trust her.  She’d better watch it.”_

Alex knew immediately it wasn’t something she heard out loud. 

She stared at Kara in the passenger seat, as her jaw flinched, grinding into an apple fritter harder than she needed to, confirming that Alex had just heard Kara’s thoughts, clear as day. 

Until the unmarked car they were in plowed directly into a brick wall on the side of a branch of National City Bank, Alex having been shocked out of paying attention to the road until it was too late.  Both airbags immediately went off, even though they ran into the building slow enough that if Alex had been paying attention, they would have had plenty of time to stop or hop out. 

“Alex!?”  Kara said, not believing they just totaled the car going twenty miles per hour.

Alex looked back at Kara, looking equally shocked. 

“I can hear thoughts.” 

* * *

 

Alex knew as soon as she sat in the front seat of the sleek muscle car at the dealership, that today would be the day J’onn finally snapped and fired her.

Or had a heart attack. 

Or both.

Because even though he approved her going out and picking out a new squad car, he didn’t approve her going forty-thousand dollars over budget.

But she _knew_ she was keeping this one, from the sleek curvy design, how the seat wrapped around her like a glove, the places where she could see Winn making some special enhancements—all this before she even turned it on. 

She looked over the interior stitching inside—the dealer had added some upgrades, Alex appreciating that the new center console appeared to have lots of compartments for hiding weapons. Or Synthetic boosters. Or perhaps some of the newer chemical that Jeremiah had been teaching her to build immunity to, or—really the possibilities in this car were endless.  She didn’t like that it was a ridiculous bright mid-life-crisis shade of red, but that could be fixed.

Then Alex started the engine.  She couldn’t stop the spread of the grin she would be wearing for the rest of the afternoon.

And when she got out onto open road and dropped the pedal to the floor for the first time, she knew she would convince J’onn they were keeping it.  Really, it was only fair.  She couldn’t fly like Kara, so without this she’d never get anywhere as fast as she needed to go.  

And, of course, excellent safety features. 

She knew Winn would easily be able to armor the vehicle to DEO specifications without sacrificing looks, but could he make it jump if she needed it? Even fly?

She had to buy it to find out.


	12. You've Been Running Through My Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another mini-chap---hopefully a bigger one soon.

Alex smiled as she watched Maggie walk through the door.  The small detective was tired, Alex could tell right away from the way her shoulders slumped as she pulled off her jacket, and then kicked off her shoes.  But Maggie still smiled back. Maggie always smiled back, no matter how tired or how draining her day had been.

Alex had made up her mind that she wanted to tell Maggie right away that she could hear thoughts now, before she accidentally overheard something from her girlfriend’s mind without her knowing. 

The agent had spent the rest of the afternoon after picking out her new car trying to get a handle in her new ability.  The car had been delivered to the DEO for Winn to upgrade it to something more acceptable for a special agent. Alex had sat in a local coffee shop, pretending to read a newspaper, trying to discern where the various thoughts that she could hear were coming from.  She was thankful that at least she was only catching one thought at a time, figuring that if she literally heard everyone at once it would result in nothing but a massive headache. 

She felt Maggie come wrap her two small yet strong arms around her waist, burrowing her face into Alex’s neck.  Then she felt the detective’s deep inhale, followed by a sigh out.

“Maggie.  There’s something I need to tell you before you say anything. Okay? So just don’t say anything.  Or think anything.  This is important.”

“Is it about the accident?  I already know, Kara called me.”  Maggie squeezed Alex tighter as she spoke. 

“No, it’s not that.  But—Kara called you?”

“Of course she did.  And she told me you were picking out a new car, and I immediately assumed you would just replace it with another motorcycle, but that’s not really practical for rain driving and it’s apparently going to monsoon the rest of the month--”

“Okay, but before we get into all of that, I need to tell you something.” 

“Alright.  Go ahead.”  Maggie pulled back to run her hands up and down Alex’s arms, watching Alex take in a deep breath, like she was about to reveal a deep, dark secret. 

_It must be bad. She did that exhale thing she does when it’s bad.  Even though it’s kind of cute. Not kind of—it is cute._

“Damnit!  I didn’t want to hear that!  This is what I was trying to avoid. I’m sorry.”

“Hear what? Alex, what’s going on?”  Maggie kept her hands on Alex’s arms, even as she stilled her movements. 

“I can hear thoughts.  There.  I said it.”  Alex exhaled again, hoping Maggie would understand that she didn’t _mean_ to just hear that thought. 

“You can hear thoughts.”  Maggie repeated back.

_Well.  That’s a new development._

“Okay, stop!”  Alex said, feeling so, so guilty that she was hearing Maggie’s thoughts without her permission. 

“Stop what?  Alex, that’s awesome.  What’s wrong?”

“I’m really trying not to hear your thoughts, Maggie.  But I can’t control it.  It just happens.” 

Maggie went back to running her hands up and down Alex’s arms. 

“Well.  We knew you might have more abilities that could develop, so we shouldn’t be surprised.  Although this one is exactly what I was hoping for.” 

“Wait—What?  You were hoping I could invade your most private thoughts and feelings?”

Maggie laughed.  “Alex, I’m not worried about that.  Now that I know if I need to have private thought time or something, I’ll just step out for a walk.  No big deal, Danvers.  I don’t hide things from you, so I’m not worried.” 

Alex looked at Maggie, putting her arms on Maggie’s waist, looking so relieved that Maggie just wanted to scoop her up in her arms. 

“Well, I’m not _trying_ to hear thoughts.  They just—invade my headspace.” 

“So…”  Maggie trailed off, starting to go off into thought. 

_This would be perfect to find out about Scarecrow.  Between the aliens in the prison, and whatever was going on during that little session—_

“I know, you were hoping for psychic powers to develop.”  Alex answered out loud to Maggie’s thoughts immediately, as though they were having a regular conversation. 

Maggie’s eyes snapped up, and then smiled in realization. 

“Right. You can hear that.”  Maggie shook her head, laughing.  “I guess that’ll make having a sore throat a little easier.”  Alex rolled her eyes, smiling back. 

“You’re really okay with this?”

“Of course I am.  This is a part of you now, and we knew you were developing abilities, so it’ll just take some getting used to—for both of us.  And you’d better buckle up, Danvers.”

“What?  Why?”  Alex grinned back at Maggie, who was wiggling her eyes mischeviously. 

“Because you’re about to find out exactly how many times a day I think about you naked.”

* * *

 

Maggie was _really_ having fun with Alex’s new ability. 

Especially knowing Alex couldn’t control it, she could float thoughts around at the exact right time, knowing it would get to Alex’s mind. 

At first, Maggie limited it to nights curled up around each other on the couch, when she could just think, “I love you,” knowing Alex would hear and answer it out loud.  She could always tell Alex had heard because she would smile first, drawing Maggie’s face up with her hand to answer while looking into her eyes. 

Or if Maggie was feeling a little more playful, she could shoot Alex over a thought while they were out at the bar with their friends. Sitting in a group around a table, Maggie didn’t need to hear Alex’s answers.

_The way you drum those fingertips on the table—you know what I want you to do with those fingers_.  _Over and over and over again._

And then she’d follow it up with an innocent smile that told Alex she knew exactly what thoughts she sent out, and nobody would ever know but them why Alex suddenly choked on her drink. 

But Alex was getting confused.  She knew she wasn’t hearing _every_ thought going through Maggie’s, or anybody’s, head.  Otherwise, while Maggie was making breakfast she’d hear a steady stream of, “one cup of oats, stir in chopped apples” and a bunch of mundane things. 

Really, Alex never heard mundane thoughts—so there must have been some emotional driving point in what she could hear.  And she wasn’t getting any better controlling it.  But if Maggie had a thought she wanted Alex to hear, especially if it was inappropriate and they were both at the DEO, somehow she made damn sure Alex could hear it over any other thoughts in the room.

Alex knew if she was going to be of any use to anybody, she was going to need some help. 


	13. Found You

“Okay, my turn.”  Maggie said, handing Alex her already loaded syringe. 

She had just finished injecting Alex with her tailor-made synthetic super-blend in her right butt cheek, and then started to unbuckle her own pants, expecting the same. 

Alex reacted the same way she had for every one of these mutual injection sessions over the last week.  She hesitated. 

“Alex.  It’s okay.”  Maggie concentrated on blocking Alex from her thoughts.  Just because Alex refused to seek J’onn’s help with controlling her psychic abilities didn’t mean Maggie felt the same way, and had let J’onn spend the week guiding her as her own abilities developed. 

What they both found interesting is that Alex could still float (but not really fly), had super strength, she could hear thoughts, but now that she had started eating at the same level of Kara, the intact of nutrients spurred her x-ray vision and eyebeams to also come in, although not reliably.  Maggie couldn’t fly at all, not even a little float, and the increase in her strength was only half what Alex had experienced.  Eliza had explained that Maggie’s blend was much different than Alex’s, matched to her own biology and that they had to be careful not to accidentally take one meant for the other. 

Especially now that they lived together, Eliza didn’t want accidentally toxic reactions and labeled each individual bottle of super-juice either “Alex” or “Maggie” in black sharpie. 

Alex nodded, pinching a portion of Maggie’s backside before pressing in the needle.  Maggie new full well that Alex was afraid of Maggie having side effects like from the earlier blend, afraid of the blend wearing off, leaving Maggie exhausted and unable to move. 

She felt a little better when Maggie had started developing extra abilities herself, namely telekinesis.  If Maggie couldn’t float, at least she could float objects to her.  But Alex still worried. 

Maggie heard the chatter in Alex’s head, choosing not to address it. 

She was too far gone concentrating on not letting Alex hear her own thoughts, or Agent Danvers would become aware of just how many side effects Maggie was experiencing that she didn’t feel the need to volunteer. 

* * *

 

Alex watched as her farther ground up one of the sacred blue flowers by hand, using the stone tools found in the temple on the top of the mountain. 

As much as Alex had been training with him, as much as she had shared with him over the past few weeks—the changes in her ability, the alien criminals they had hunted and put in prison, even snippets about her and Kara or her and Maggie, after all of that, she still didn’t want to tell him that she could hear thoughts.  She had specifically asked J’onn not to tell him, giving her commander the impression that she had a handle on her new abilities once she finally had clued him in that the existed. 

It was really only a slight stretch of the truth.  She could control when she floated.  She hardly ever broke anything anymore, gauging her own strength much better now, and she knew how not to use her X-ray vision after one incident of accidentally seeing too much of Winn and Lyra through the bathroom door at the bar.  That was plenty of motivation for Alex to learn from Kara what not to do with her eyes.  It was really the thoughts that were all that was left, with large, loud public places usually too much for Alex to handle for more than a short period of time.

It actually had calmed Alex, to know that Jeremiah’s thoughts were genuine, and not forced sentences because he knew she could read him.  Every, “She’s doing so well,” or, “that was a great move. I’m so proud of her,” stirred Alex in a way she hadn’t expected.  She didn’t know how much those were things that deep down inside she wanted to hear until she could start hearing them.

So, when Jeremiah had brought in eight masked, fully armed warriors with him, all standing in a full, silent attention while he prepared the flowers into a tea, she relaxed as his mind stayed relaxed, focused on what he was making.  Alex inhaled the air; Jeremiah must have given these soldiers a workout before Alex climbed the mountain that day, the musk of sweat under leather ancient armor taking over the air around them.

He allowed the powered flowers to steep, before giving himself and Alex equal servings. 

Alex chugged hers down in a shot, grateful the liquid wasn’t too hot, but it was bitter and unpleasant, like an herb that was too strong to take by itself.  Jeremiah took his the same way. 

“Alright.  We have about two minutes before this kicks in.”  Jeremiah put on his own face coverings, so that he matched the other warriors, dressed like a scene out of feudal Japan, complete with a samurai sword.  “When you start to feel it, open this chest.  What will be inside is what you fear most.  Your mission is to overcome whatever it is that comes out of that chest, and figure out which of us is me.” 

Alex nodded, putting on her own head gear.  Wait until the drink kicks in, open the chest, fight your fears, find Dad, battle to the pretend sparring death.  Got it. 

_She can do this.  I know she can._ Alex smiled when she heard her father’s anticipation.  The smile faded, as she realized there were eight other bodies in the room, and she wasn’t hearing any of their thoughts.  And how was she supposed to know when the drink kicked in? 

And then she felt it, when everything around her started to appear as a dizzy swirl, and all the colors started to blend together.  She instinctively knew it was time to open the chest. 

Alex only got it cracked open before the bats started flying out. 

* * *

 

Maggie popped another aspirin, grateful that even though her side-effects were chemically induced, the feeling of her skin itching and crawling from the injections could be subdued with a simple pain reliever.  She assumed that it couldn’t be that bad if one little aspirin killed the symptoms. 

It is also good that the aspirin kicked in, because yet again she saw the Scarecrow exit the women’s holding center, and this time, she wasn’t going to lose him. 

Every time that she had an afternoon off from regular police work, she would stake out the holding center, hoping to follow the psychiatrist who she knew was drugging alien prisoners into a “clinical insanity” defense. 

Every time she followed him, she lost him. 

There was no way he could know she was following him.  Maggie was too good of a detective, making sure at least some of her face was covered by sunglasses and holding a newspaper.  Maggie was _very_ good at blending in when she needed to, hundreds of cases that she had solved had required it. 

So, the fact that time after time, she could follow him a few blocks through the crowded National City rush-hour streets, and after a certain point he seemed to completely vanish…it irked her, to put it mildly. 

This time, he wasn’t going to get away. 

* * *

 

Alex used quiet footsteps, vision still blurry, as she creeped around, attempting to identify which of the Samurai was her father.  Truthfully, she trusted Jeremiah, but if she had known she would open a never-ending stream of bats out of that chest, she never would have agreed to open it. Despite the distraction, the paralyzing fear, and the hallucinogenic flower causing the appearance of smoke around the swarms of bats, she knew the only chance she had of getting out of this living hell was to figure it out. 

They continued pouring out of the chest, forming swarms around the samurai men, around the walls of the training facility, around Alex, as she felt the air whipping around her from their wings flapping in such large numbers.

She had finally dispelled the bats once she realized why they had been so unnerving. 

Alex realized, while fighting bat after bat that flew out of the chest, ignoring the sounds of the men’s feet scrambling to situate themselves behind swarms of them, assuming her fear of the bats would be Alex’s defeat, that she only _thought_ she was afraid of the bats. 

But not once in her entire life had a bat actually hurt her.  Not when she fell into the hole as a child, not ever once out camping when could hear them flying around in the distance, and not even now, as they flew out directly at her, all around her.  Not once had they ever bitten her or attacked.  She was afraid of feeling helpless, like she was falling into an unknown darkness.  That’s what she felt when she fell and Kara had to save her all those years ago. 

The bats just happened to be there. 

They became a symbol of what was hidden in unexpected shadows. 

And once Alex came to this realization, the bats disappeared.  And even though she felt the effects of the tea, the bats not blocking her vision meant she could use X-ray to see which one was her father. 

She smirked, as she didn’t stalk up to him right away.  Once she looked through the masks and clearly saw her father was standing at attention in a circle around Alex with the other men dressed identically, she pretended to do a full circle sweep. 

After her third pass, she did a lap around from behind, the men no longer able to see her, coming up behind her father, knocking off his mask and helmet, quickly drawing her sword to his throat. 

Jeremiah couldn’t help the giant grin that spread his face. 

“Found you.”  She said, taking a moment to bath in his mental praise. 

“You did!  You did it.  Alex, that is excellent.  You’re almost ready.”  He pulled her into a big bear hug, beaming in pride that Alex overcame her biggest fear. 

It meant she would be fearless now in battle, if he needed her to be.

* * *

 

This time, Maggie wasn’t going to lose him. 

She tried a new strategy, where she followed him from the opposite side of the street, watching him at a diagonal, hair down, sunglasses on.  He seemed to be walking more briskly than usual, making it even harder to keep up. 

Maggie new she wasn’t going to be able to act natural with him moving so fast, so she sacrificed looking less conspicuous in favor of keeping up with the thin man and glasses, who was still wearing his suit jacket despite a day of unbearable humidity. 

And then he paused. 

He paused, turning around, looking right at Maggie. 

She knew he saw her.  He made clear eye contact, looking her face over for a full second, the longest second of Maggie’s life.  He made a clear visual ID of Maggie Sawyer’s face, before disappearing again. 

“Shit.”  Maggie said aloud, kicking the trash can. 


	14. Too Soon?

 

“This is so bad. So, so bad.” 

“It can’t be that bad.  You said he just disappeared, right?  I mean think about it.  He didn’t even attempt to hurt you.  He just left.” 

Maggie continued pacing in her crisp, way-too-expensive-thank-you-DEO crisp skirt and blouse, hair pulled back in a tight bun.  Alex’s look for the day reminded Maggie of the day they had first met, Alex wearing her butcher-than-thou suit to a crime scene like it was supposed to make a regular old cop shake in her boots instead of shaking in other places. 

“But he didn’t just walk away, like a normal person would if I wasn’t a threat to him.  He vanished.  Which means he has some kind of cloaking ability, or--”

“Or the block he disappeared on does.  Maggie, didn’t you track him to the same spot last time before losing him?” 

Maggie nodded, trying to rewind her mental tapes back to the time before.  She tracked him, turned the corner with him, he stayed on the right side of the sidewalk, and then—vanished. 

Maggie’s thoughts were interrupted by the bell, and the sound of the front doors of the bank opening. 

“Well, bank teller Danvers, we’d better get to work.”  Maggie put on a pair of fake glasses that she though made her look more like she worked indoors, staring at tiny numbers on money all day. 

“It looks like it, branch manager Sawyer.” 

The pair walked out, excited that they finally had a hold of their abilities enough to be sent on a mission together.  J’onn had finally become satisfied with their ability to control their super strength.  He also had taught them to control their thoughts, not walking through mushes of all thoughts in a room, but fine tuning it into something that could be turned on and off. 

It had taken the longest to deal with the accidental floating.  For Alex, it was training her body not to float as soon as she became angry or excited, even if she still couldn’t fly.  Similarly, Maggie had started her super-cycle with objects around her shaking an inch off of their tables and shelves when she was overly happy, which would have been a dead give-away in the field that the DEO was now beginning to manufacture super-agents.

Finally, finally after weeks of preparation, their powers were under control enough to work together.  J’onn had decided to test them out on what would most likely be a harmless, easy to maneuver operation.  The NCPD had gotten a tip that a notorious bank robber was back in town, and they were fairly certain they knew which bank the criminal would attempt to rob.

It would be the first field test to see if they could really read thoughts with enough discernment to find one voice, in a morning rush of people, who was thinking through a robbery plan. 

* * *

 

Winn rubbed his hands together excitedly, networking two of his Macbooks together with an additional two external monitors, so that he could view his plans across as many fields in his grid as possible. 

At this point, designing a super suit was old hat for the tiny tech genius.  He had almost finished putting together the specifics of Alex’s before he nearly wet himself at the second request. 

_“I can do this—oh! And James—er, Guardian and I have worked on some suit enhancements, since he’s on his fifth.  Maybe we can take this design and—make it a little more, super?”  Winn was practically jumping up and down with excitement._

_“Whatever you think is a good idea, I’ll go with it.  As long as it’s still black.  I need to be able to move at night.  And the logo.”  Alex pointed down to the rough sketches she and Maggie had put together._

_Maggie was one hundred percent on board with Alex getting a super suit, especially if she was going to be doing more night reconnaissance.  Maggie was also one hundred and ten percent stubbornly insisting that she didn’t need a suit._

_She was back up, most nights just waiting in the car as a second set of eyes.  She wasn’t jealous of Alex having more strength than her, but it did bother her a little bit that Alex got to go rushing into the action, and her job was to stay in the back and telekinetically float debris over the bad guys if things got out of hand._

_“Maggie.  You need a suit.  If anything ever happens to me, you’re next down the list.  Would you run into a police call without a Kevlar vest?  No?  Then why would you run into a DEO call without a super suit?”_

_“Because I’m already wearing the Kevlar, Alex.  Which is more than—idea.  I have an idea.”_

_Winn was already in a drawer, taking out a variety of metals, trying to match materials to suit specifications._

_“Hmm.”  He mumbled, without look up._

_“Well, you’re the suit guy, right?  You know what materials provide the most protection and how to hide weapons and the like.”_

_“That would be me.”  Winn hummed out, holding up a holster to the light, thinking about modifying it for Alex’s needs._

_“What if instead of a second suit, you modified a car?”  Maggie said, looking at Alex._

_Alex was either going to love the idea or hate it.  That new car was her work baby, her work wife, and her work breakroom all at once.  Ever since the accident, Alex only went on calls in her own DEO vehicle, beating everyone to every crime scene because of it._

_As soon as Maggie said it, she stopped to listen for Alex’s thoughts._

_The detective heard the distinct “Sure, we can do that.  Maybe a few low-level modifications to make the car safer and more military like.  Winn already made it bulletproof, and added a tint control, but I’m sure there’s more we can do.  Right, Winn?”  To which Winn nodded vigoriously, grinning like he’d just won the design lottery._

_What Maggie heard, clear as day from Alex’s thoughts, ‘oh no.  Oh no, oh no.  What are they going to do to my baby.’_

_To which Maggie could only grin, starting to run plans through her head._

_‘Just trust me.’ She thought as loud as she could in Alex’s direction, without anything actually coming out of her mouth._

Winn had his own special design up on the screens, with Alex’s muscle sports car, painted jet black, in the center of the hidden garage, surrounded by Winn’s equipment.

He easily transitioned in all of Maggie’s requests: super speed, earthquake, flood, and fire, resistant.  He had no problem with Alex’s requests either, which generally involved shoving the largest variety of weaponry along with a binocular vision mode.  The design had been more fun for Winn than a challenge.  It had taken longer to convince J’onn to approve the budget on it than it had for Winn to figure out how to make all of the requests work.

And for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why, in the center of the steering wheel, much like the center panel of what would become Alex’s suit, would be the shadow outline of a bat. 

* * *

 

“I really, really hope nobody comes in here needing more than just a deposit.”  Alex thought, knowing Maggie would hear her. 

Even though the First Bank of National City had agreed to cooperate and let undercover agents work, especially to stop a robbery before it could happen, they didn’t have the luxury of actually training the infiltrators very much. 

“Relax, Danvers.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and someone will come it looking to wire money right to a known crime cell. Kill two birds with one stone.” Maggie thought back. 

And then Alex heard a chuckle in her head, causing her to smile as she counted out bills for a customer.

“How do you chuckle in your thoughts, Sawyer?” 

“The same way you snort in your thoughts when you laugh.” 

“I do not!” 

“Yeah, ya do.” 

The two sifted through thought easily as each person came up to the counter.  Most folks were busy thinking about the day ahead of them—something both Alex and Maggie noticed about hearing thoughts in general.  Very few people concentrated on what was going on right in the moment, instead thinking of either the past or the future. 

So when one very, very sweaty gentleman in a suit stepped up, repeating in his head over and over what he was going to ask for, the two immediately became suspicious, glancing at each other before both watching the man. 

“I need fifty dollars in quarters.  Yes, just the quarters please.  Thank you. I need fifty dollars in quarters.”  He repeated it over and over again, looking everywhere but at the tellers. 

“Bingo.”  Agent Danvers sent telepathically over to Agent Sawyer, watching Maggie move in so that she would be right next to Alex when they moved to take him down. 

Which would be the second he either drew a weapon, or passed over a robbery note. 

The man stepped up, nervously tapping the table. 

Both women put their hands on their hidden delta blasters. 

“I need fifty dollars in quarters.”  The man said. 

Alex paused for a moment.  The man was making no attempt to show a weapon.  Alex knew the request for quarters didn’t require her to get up, so the order wasn’t a distraction. 

“Maybe the cadence we heard him repeat is some kind of code.  Humor him.”  Maggie thought. 

“Just the quarters today?”  Alex asked, still on high alert. 

“Yes, just the quarters please.”  Alex and Maggie both didn’t care that they looked suspicious staring at the man, as he appeared just as nervous waiting as he had in line. 

“Why hasn’t he made his move yet?”  Alex asked in her head, handing the quarters over. 

Now the two heard the man counting in his head, backwards from twenty, while forcibly deep breathing.  Alex gave him the quarters, which he stuffed immediately into his pockets. 

“Thank you.”  He said.  The two heard him still counting when he walked away, as though he was counting his steps out. 

“Anxiety.”  Maggie said in her thoughts, waiting for Alex to face her in acknowledgement.  “He’s not a robber. He was literally just nervous having to talk to us.” 

Alex let out an exhale that came entirely too soon, as the two agents had paid so much attention to reading the man who was in front of them, they had stopped scanning the room. 

A blast went off, letting out a black smoke that by now Alex had become very familiar with, but with which Maggie had only come into contact once. 

“It’s the hallucinogen.”  Alex said quickly, as they watched all of the other tellers, bank employees, and remaining two people who were in line start shouting in fear. 

Whether or not the man with the anxiety was there by coincidence or as a decoy, at this point, didn’t even matter, as the screams of the mentally tormented employees grew louder.


End file.
